Typically, gas turbine engines include a compressor for compressing air, a combustor for mixing the compressed air with fuel and igniting the mixture, and a turbine blade assembly for producing power. Combustors often operate at high temperatures that may exceed 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit. Typical turbine combustor configurations expose turbine blade assemblies to these high temperatures. As a result, turbine blades and turbine vanes must be made of materials capable of withstanding such high temperatures. Turbine blades, vanes and other components often contain cooling systems for prolonging the life of these items and reducing the likelihood of failure as a result of excessive temperatures.
Typically, turbine vanes extend radially inward from a vane carrier and terminate within close proximity of a rotor assembly. The turbine vanes typically include a plurality of cooling channels positioned in internal aspects of the turbine vanes. Cooling fluids, such as air, are passed through the cooling channels in the vanes. The cooling fluids are then exhausted from the turbine vanes into the combustor gases.
The turbine engine also includes a mixing chamber that receives cooling fluids used to cool the liner of the combustor. These cooling fluids are feed from the combustor, through cooling channels in the liner, into the mixing chamber, and into the combustor. Use of cooling fluids from the compressor reduces the efficiency of the turbine engine. Thus, a need exists for more efficient use of cooling fluids extracted from the compressor of a turbine engine to increase the overall efficiency of the turbine engine.